Chapter 216: The Cleaning Broom
Whether it was because Sean had been using his wand to assist in the hatching or because his innate Magical Beast Affinity was at play, Norbert-kun's affinity grew remarkably fast.
This gave Sean hope that he could produce a Fire-dragon-kun Biscuit before the International Alchemical Symposium.
Dragons grow at an incredible rate; Norbert-kun was destined to outgrow Hagrid's hut quickly. Sean calculated he had only about three weeks to raise the affinity by three thousand points to reach the "Friendly" (Adept) level.
Consequently, Sean cleared a significant portion of his schedule to spend time at Hagrid's hut. He spent his hours researching dragon habits and nurturing the fire-dragon-kun using methods from his books.
While Hagrid was clumsily trying to feed the dragon dead rats, Sean had already requested Gurt-kun to send over various types of meat. In just a few short days, the small dragon had doubled in size.
This caused Harry and the others immense distress, especially since Malfoy seemed to have already peeked at what they were doing.
"In another two weeks, Norbert-kun will be as long as Hagrid's house," Hermione said, her brow furrowed with worry.
"And Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment," Ron lamented.
Harry suddenly turned to Ron. "Charlie," he said.
"You've gone barmy too," Ron replied. "I'm Ron, remember?"
"No—Charlie—your brother Charlie. The one in Romania, studying dragons. We should send Norbert-kun to him. Charlie can look after him and release him back into the wild."
"Brilliant!" Ron and Hermione's eyes lit up with hope.
Compared to their constant anxiety, Sean, who knew how the story ended, remained composed. At this rate, in another week, Norbert-kun's affinity would reach the required level. Sean relaxed his mind slightly and prepared to create something else.
His proficiency with the Planning Map had reached Expert level. Sean was now only two Intermediate alchemical creations away from unlocking the Expert Alchemist title.
One morning, as Sean was enjoying his pumpkin sweet milk, he heard a sudden commotion overhead. Hundreds of owls flooded in, circling the Great Hall and dropping letters and packages onto the talking crowd.
A bulging package landed on Neville's head. Neville pulled out the contents and found it was an automated hair-curling wand. There was also a note: [Don't forget to tidy up your laundry].
Unfortunately, Neville seemed to have forgotten how to use the automated wand. When he touched the handle, it began curling the hair on the back of his head uncontrollably. The Great Hall erupted in laughter until Hermione and Justin, sighing, stepped in—one to hold the flailing Neville down, and the other to forcefully wrench the wand away.
Sean watched silently, and an idea began to take root in his mind.
The Caretaker's Office.
Although a strange, oppressive atmosphere still lingered here, the room was much brighter and cleaner than before. The windows automatically mimicked the weather outside Hogwarts; soft white clouds floated by, and an occasional bird could be seen streaking across the sky.
Mr. Filch was watering his plants. On the windowsill sat a violet, Mrs. Norris-kun's favourite. In the days before the office had light, no flower could survive here.
"Mr. Filch," Sean said, knocking on the door.
"Come in, Green."
The biting doorknob snapped and tugged at him, but Sean tapped it with his wand, and it went still. This was a new discovery for Sean: because of his familiarity with the structure of alchemical objects and his keen perception of internal magic flow, he could use a minute amount of magic to stall or directly disrupt an alchemical object's power.
Sean pushed the door open, carrying a broom. Mr. Filch's eyes immediately fell on the strange tool.
"This is a Cleaning Broom, sir. It can help you clean the Castle," Sean said, his eyes sparkling.
The inspiration for the Cleaning Broom came from automated tools in wizarding households, such as the self-washing sink or self-knitting needles at the Burrow. Sean had created a broom endowed with a will via Transfiguration and engraved it with Scouring Charms and Disillusionment Charms.
With this, Mr. Filch wouldn't be so aggravated by the dirt the wizard-kuns brought in. A single student returning from a rainy day could track in enough mud to keep Mr. Filch cleaning for an hour; a single Gryffindor Quidditch team could keep him busy all night.
At the office door, Mr. Filch stood dazed, failing to find the words to thank him until Sean had already left.
"Ah... My lady, my lady..." Eventually, he simply picked up Mrs. Norris-kun and retreated back into his office.
The Cleaning Broom also took over the cleaning of the Room of Hope; the group there knew of it even before they saw the Planning Map.
Another week passed.
Sean was in Hagrid's hut. Norbert-kun was now the size of a large cardboard box. Sean directed a charmed meat bucket to feed the dragon.
[You have gained the affinity of the Magical Beast Norwegian Ridgeback (Norbert) to the Adept standard. Proficiency +10]
Today, Norbert-kun had reached the required affinity with Sean. And today was also the day he was to be sent away.
As Sean had anticipated, Ron had contacted his brother Charlie, who was sending people to the Astronomy Tower to collect Norbert-kun.
"Be careful," Sean said, unable to resist warning Hagrid as he moved to pick the dragon up.
"Heh—it's alright. He only bit me boot—he's just playin'. He's only a little-fellow-kun, after all."
The "little-fellow-kun" thudded his tail against the wall, making the windows rattle. Sean now reasonably suspected that Hagrid's belief that magical creatures liked him was partly because they simply couldn't do anything to him.
A dark, cloud-heavy night fell. The five members of the Room of Hope were a mixture of nervous and excited. They were going for a night stroll—and they were transporting a fire dragon!
Norbert-kun was packed into a large crate. Sean cast a Levitation Charm to lift it; otherwise, Harry and the others wouldn't have known how to move it.
Walking outside the dark Castle, Sean was once again "properly" breaking school rules. Harry and the others were under the Invisibility Cloak, their hearts thudding loudly. Sean and Justin had cast Disillusionment Charms. The Castle, usually quaint during the day, now looked like a man-eating beast. Aside from the ever-calm Sean, the other wizard-kuns couldn't stop their minds from racing.
Harry worried if Malfoy had already reported to Dumbledore and was waiting to catch them and get them expelled. Hermione feared the omnipresent Mrs. Norris-kun—would they be caught by the caretaker? Ron, nervous and not having eaten much, wondered if they could visit the kitchens after dropping off the dragon.
They climbed the marble stairs into the Entrance Hall and walked through the pitch-black corridors. Up one floor, then another...
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